Webinar Archive

Technology Development from the More Electric Aircraft to All Electric Flight

Date

2017-10-04

Location

Webinar - Online

Contact

Alicia Tomaszewski – tec@ieee.org

Presenter

Pat Wheeler

Description

Abstract:  There has recently been a major change in the design of aircraft. Electrical systems are being used in applications that have traditionally been powered by hydraulic or pneumatic sources. The Boeing 787 and the Airbus A380 both have significantly larger electrical systems than any previous aircraft.  The most important enabling technology for the More Electric Aircraft is been power electronics. Without power conversion, none of the benefits of this technology would be possible. However, aerospace applications present some challenging conditions for power electronics and there are still a number of areas where improvements must be made in terms of the weight, volume, cost, and reliability of systems. This presentation will introduce the More Electric Aircraft concept and investigate the potential benefits of the technology before considering the challenges our community will have to meet to make the concept of Electric Propulsion of large aircraft possible.  The talk will be illustrated with a selection of case studies of systems that have been developed at the University of Nottingham, UK.

Biography:  Prof Pat Wheeler received his BEng [Hons] degree in 1990 from the University of Bristol, UK.  He received his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering for his work on Matrix Converters from the University of Bristol, the UK in 1994.  In 1993 he moved to the University of Nottingham and worked as a research assistant in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.  In 1996 he became a Lecturer in the Power Electronics, Machines and Control Group at the University of Nottingham, UK.  Since January 2008 he has been a Full Professor in the same research group.  He is currently Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Nottingham.  He is an IEEE PELs ‘Member at Large’ and an IEEE PELs Distinguished Lecturer.  He has published 400 academic publications in leading international conferences and journals.

Event Recording

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